UK Happenings

Paws and Listen, acoUstiKats to Join Voices with Two National A Cappella Acts at Voices in Harmony

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ARORA video for "Morning Light" from the album "Bioluminescence."

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 12, 2016) This weekend, two big names in a cappella will join University of Kentucky's own vocal talents on a Bluegrass stage for the annual Voices in Harmony festival.

Designed as an educational opportunity for young a cappella singers, the weekend will consist of lessons and workshops for several high school groups in the region and will close with a concert headlined by professional groups ARORA and Dakaboom and UK's Paws and Listen and the acoUstiKats. The featured concert will begin 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at Memorial Hall.

Paws and Listen is an a cappella singing group of 16 women auditioned from UK’s Women's Choir. They perform pop music as well as a mix of doo-wop, vocal jazz and show tunes. The ensemble is coached by undergraduate music education majors and advised by Lori Hetzel, associate director of UK School of Music.

The acoUstiKats, founded in 1993 by Jeff Johnson as a subsection of the UK Men’s Chorus, are the premier male a cappella ensemble in the state of Kentucky. This group of 16 men has been featured on national television as a part of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” and has performed in countless venues across the U.S.

ARORA boasts an a cappella genre of their own, combining dreamy vocal harmonies and beatboxing with striking production. Their latest release, "Bioluminescence," transports the listener to a world of cinematic dream pop, using voices, pedals and loops.

Dakaboom describe their act in an electronic press kit video. 

Dakaboom is a music/comedy duo from New York and Los Angeles. Described only as postmodern vaudeville, their show must be experienced to be understood. Longtime best friends Ben McLain and Paul Peglar utilize a cappella, loop stations, stand-up, sketch, crowd interaction and several musical genres to create a world all their own.

Tickets for the Voices in Harmony concert featuring ARORA, Dakaboom, Paws and Listen and the acoUstiKats are $20 at the door.

For more information on Voices in Harmony and the Saturday Night concert, visit www.voicesinharmony.net.

For more information on Paws and Listen, the acoUstiKats or UK Choirs and their upcoming events, contact Joseph Wrightson, administrative assistant to UK Choirs, at wrightson.joseph@gmail.com.

The acoUstiKats and Paws and Listen are part of the UK School of Music at UK College of Fine Arts. The school has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu